Monday, July 16, 2007

UPDATEDWell, it was obvious today that "the Pie" does need Jennifer Hayes Riedl around to remember things for her, because she had a difficult time on the stand today doing just that. She must have said it at least a couple dozen times, if not more while on the stand all day today. "I don't know," and/or "I don't remember." And it makes you wonder. How can a very very best friend, a true, real friend, get up on the witness stand for the defendant in the murder of your "soul mate," and claim you're telling the truth about that very very best friend's "state of mind," just days before she was murdered in the house of a total stranger.

It doesn't make any sense and it's my impression that the jury didn't believe a word she said, well, at least those words that she did happen to remember. The jury didn't appear to connect with the Pie at all, and several times during long side bars, several of the jurors whispered in groups of threes and had smiles and stifled laughs upon their faces. At least the Pie had the good sense to cover up her boobies today, and wear something more appropriate to court. I didn't think I could handle another day of over exposed, over baked Pie on the stand today.

In other news, I had a wonderful time meeting two great posters on the Court TV Phil Spector Forum houdinisback and ccarrolladams. Houdinisback and ccarrolladams both got the opportunity to meet Beth Karas, (carrolladams spoke with Beth at length over the issue of whether or not Michael Bey actually did go to a party for a bunch of musicians like Pie claimed on the stand) and we all had lunch in the cafeteria with Mr. Dunne talking about the Pie's testimony, and whether or not Dr. Lee really did earn his doctorate at the University he says he did. It seems a dissertation paper cannot be found anywhere for this Henry Lee. Ccarrolladams, at the lunch break, talked to Peter Y. Hong of the LA Times about just that, and it appears Peter is going to do some more digging on the issue. Peter said that the University told him over the phone, that Henry Lee did get his doctorate there. However, nothing was ever faxed to Peter, to verify it. It was just a phone call verification.

I hope to write up more later, but I have to go see if I can find a skirt or dress immediately. (You know, one of those things I just don't own, lol!) Ccarrolladams has invited houdinisback and myself to The Magic Castle tomorrow night, and unfortunately for me, there is a dress code. So I'm off to go shop!

Oh, and Alan Jackson mentioned a Vanity Fair article that was written about the murder in the June 2003 issue, however, it wasn't one written by Mr. Dunne.

Update 11:15 pmFirst off, I want to give a little shout out to a great blogger in Malone, New York. The Darwin Exception is a very funny, witty blog, and just like me, many of the posters at Court TV love reading Kim's take on the Spector Trial. Check it out.

When I arrived at court, houdinisback and ccarrolladams were already on the 9th floor. The hallway was unusually empty, so I had no difficulty identifying them. As people behind the scenes started arriving, I pointed out who everybody was. A bit later, Mr. Dunne stopped by to thank me for dropping off some research at his hotel over the weekend. "Did you drop it off yourself?" he asks me. "Well I was there! Why didn't you come up? You could have showed me how to find all this stuff on the Internet!" I explained that my husband and I had lots of shopping to do, and I didn't know if he was in. We'll schedule that another time when he's free.

We're inside the courtroom now, and dini (houdinisback) and CCA (ccarrolladams) are able to get seats right next to me. It's 9:40 am and we are still waiting. Dini says she saw Dixon in chambers, so we are waiting for them to come out. Rachele is slumped in the front row, wrapped in her fleece blankie. She didn't do anything with her hair this morning. It barely looks combed. I'm wondering if she knows how to use a hair dryer. At least she wore something conservative today. Some type of form fitting knit sweater top, with ...(sheesh! my brain is doing a PIE right now, and I can't think of the type of collar of Rachelle's sweater) a high neck and long sleeves. I couldn't see any red soles on her shoes today. Maybe today is budget day in the footwear department. Carlton Smith (who wrote a book on Spector) is here, squeezed inbetween Ciaran and Steven. I point out Peter Y. Hong to dini and CCA in the back row. Ron is here without his friend Richard. Brunon comes over to Steven again to comment on his latest article in the LA Weekly. I give Dominick a copy of Steven's latest piece online, and as usual, he loves it. He always has a compliment for Steven's pieces. Dominick has really taken to Steven and Ciaran, and has commented several times that he loves our little group that sits together every day. I look down and I see these adorable shoes on dini's feet. I've always liked this style of sandal/shoe, even though I could never wear something like this. They were a very pretty chocolate brown, open toed, that had thick, brown ribbons that came up and tied around her ankles. I forget to compliment her on her great footwear. Tawny Tindle, Pie, and Rosen's girlfriend all enter the court room together, and I tell dini who everyone is.

When the Pie finally takes the stand, we see that someone finally was able to talk some sense into her lack of brain cells over the weekend (and she didn't "forget" it), because she covered her boobies today. But the person who really has me intrigued, is the friend who came to court with the Pie. I never got very close to her to try to figure out why her face looked so strange across the court room. Her face had very angular features.

All during the morning session, the Pie's memory fades in and out. I'm reminded of Dr. Lee, and his selective memory. When the story about the famous director, Michael Bey (whom Lana worked with on a Mercedes commercial) subbing her at a party is revealed, CCA doesn't believe this ever happened. First off, this is only one of two dates that the Pie is certain of when she testifies on the stand. The other one is when an investigator came to interview her, but in reality, she's wrong about that date because it's the day he wrote his report, and not the day he interviewed her. CCA tells us, the date of this party was on a Thursday, (a date Lana would most likely have worked, since Thursdays would be a busy day down at the House of Blues) and he knows that at that time, Michael Bey was in pre or post production (I can't remember which he said) at a studio, and he can't imagine that he would have stopped mid week to go to a party with musicians.

During the break, Ron (of Richard and Ron from Riverside) tells me he thinks the Pie is acting. Dominick doesn't believe a word she has said. I was a bit parched, and went up to the 13th floor to grab a bottle of water. In the snack room, Rosen's girlfriend comes up to me and asks, "Are you Sprocket?" I immediately get a bit paranoid, and am panicking, thinking to myself, "Did I say anything negative or catty about her on my blog?" She was amazed that there is this whole other world out there on the Internet. If she's reading the Court TV forums, you can bet the defense team is keeping an eye on what's being posted there, and any other blogs that are writing about the trial. I explain to her that, my businesses are on hold to attend this trial. She asks what I do, and I tell her that I'm a bodyworker and I have a little sewing business. She wonders if I've been following trials for long. I tell her that I attended the Blake trial, but it's only recently that I've been blogging. She then shares with me that she recently got a sewing machine. I really don't know how to respond to that, and I'm sure my blank expression didn't go over well. Out in the hallway, I see Linda Deutsch, and I ask her how her knee is doing. She says she's better since she got a cortisone shot. That will delay her need for surgery until after the trial. Rosen's girlfriend then adds that Roger had the "chicken cartilage" injected into his knees. Linda asks her if it helped. She replied, "A little bit."

I have to go off on a tangent here. I have dealt with degenerative arthritis, and several other chronic health issues. All I can say is, Blood Type Diet. It changed my life and improved my health dramatically, and in a relatively short period of time. I believe Dr. Peter D'Adamo's research is light years ahead of mainstream medicine.

When I get back in the court room, everyone is all whispering about the heavy set man in the back of the room wearing a TEAM SPECTOR button on his lapel. Not long after it's seen, it's removed from his suit jacket. Nobody seems to know who he is. Not Beth, Dominick, or Ciaran, who seems to know who everybody is, and is always up on the detailed facts of the case. Dini says that the women's restroom was the place to be, because the Pie was in there crying, getting support from Tawny Tindle and her friend she brought with her. Dini also said, she overheard way more personal information than she ever wanted to know about the Pie's "va-jay-jay." (This is the word I think Oprah used on her talk show. Hey, if it's good enough for Oprah, lol!) A woman behind me and dini tells us that at the break, Rosen was all over the Pie, definitely not happy with the some of the answers she was giving, especially when under direct, her answers are feeding right into the prosecutions lap. (Rosen has to be a little disguested himself, realizing this woman can't remember whom she's talked to and when.) Maybe this is why the Pie was crying in the women's restroom.

All during testimony today, I watched the face of Lana's sister, Fawn. She stared right at the Pie, and I never once saw her eyes drift off. A few times, when the Pie testifies to something totally unbelievable (such as, when she testifies that she told the family attorney about Lana's "ending it all" statements), it's barely noticeable, but Fawn's jaw would tighten up a bit, and her head would move to the side and back ~barely an inch or two~ as if she was trying to keep herself from shaking her head, "NO!"

There have been several times over the last several months, while I've been in the court room, I've looked at Lana's family, and I tried to put my emotions into the shoes of what Lana Clarkson's family is dealing with. What if, my sister had been so careless and thoughtlessly murdered like Lana was. What if, I had a child who was killed at the hands of a wealthy, misogynistic, weak little man. And when I think I've come just a little bit close, to what that horror would be like, tears immediately start to form and I have to shut the emotion down before I become overwhelmed by a sense of heartbreaking loss.

(Btw, I read on Punkin's own myspace page, something to the effect of, "Come for the music, stay for the Pie!" I think everyone in the court room has had about as much Pie as they can tolerate. Hopefully, we can finally put the rest of it in the trash tomorrow.)

Thanks again Sprocket for your great reporting. Wonderful that you could hook up with houdinisback, and ccarrolladams. You all will have so much to talk about. This had to be a very interesting day to be in that court room. A trial watcher's dream come true. Please share more with all of us, as soon as you can.

You do lead an exciting life these days! These 'sidebar' vignettes are just fascinating. I know you're having a blast with dini and CCA there with you this week, and please tell us about your dinner tonight at the Magic Castle.

Are you kidding? Mr. Dunne wants you to show him how to locate court related stuff on the internet? Oh my, I'm still so in awe that you get to interact with DD in the courtroom each day - priceless. Seems like everyone is a Beth Karas fan, also. I know I am - she's the the most fair, the most informative reporter I have seen on TV (and a very stylish and lovely woman to boot).

Kudos from an avid lurker on the CTV boards! I LOVE your insight and tidbits and eagerly await them daily! I'm a crime and trial junkie from way back, even became a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused/neglected children)so that now I'm a court officer and make recommendations to juvenile judges. You have a wonderful writing style and humor to boot! Thanks from Georgia, I'll be reading!

Wonderful job of bringing US into the court house with you. Thank you!

I can't imagine what Lana's family is feeling through the trashing of their beautiful daughter by her "friend". Perhaps the thing that is sustaining them through it all is knowing that Alan Jackson has witnesses that will impeach her testimony and show what a truly insignificant person Pie really is.

I saw that "Stay for the Pie" statement on her Myspace. My first thought was, "It looks like more than a few have had THIS Pie."

CONTRIBUTORS

T&T Readers To Date:

CORRECTIONS

T&T is always happy to make a correction, if warranted, upon request. Correction requests or demands received from a lawyer will be referred to our counsel and will, unavoidably, slow down the correction review process. We consider corrections to be a matter of journalistic integrity and not legal compulsion.

DISCLAIMER:

The expressions in this blog are our opinions or the opinions of our featured writers. Please remember we are not lawyers and those opinions expressed here are each of our individual opinions and should not be taken as legal advice and/or legal opinions. The comments following the blog articles are the opinions and sole property of the commenter's and do not necessarily reflect those of the site owners.